


The Perfect Gift

by A_Modern_Girl



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Fluff, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Seven tries to make a friend, Tom is a better friend that people give him credit for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:33:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27599636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Modern_Girl/pseuds/A_Modern_Girl
Summary: Tom needs help finding a birthday gift for B'Elanna and gets more than he bargained for.
Relationships: Background Tom Paris/B'elanna Torres, Tom Paris & Seven of Nine
Comments: 28
Kudos: 54
Collections: To the Journey: Found Family in Star Trek





	1. Inspiration

**Author's Note:**

> This little story is my entry in [To The Journey](https://tothejourneyfamily.tumblr.com/), an event organized by the lovely [coffeeblack75](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeeblack75/pseuds/coffeeblack75). I had so much fun writing this and I am excited to finally share it here. Enjoy!

"Seven, I need your help."

Seven of Nine fought the urge to rise from her seat in the back of the mess hall. She had learned that direct statements such as these did not always require immediate response. In fact, rushing to action could be seen as a social faux pas. Seven took a breath and looked up from her meal.

The request for help had come from Tom Paris, who was approaching rapidly. From what she could read of his autonomic response, he was ill at ease but not in danger. This confirmed her decision to remain seated. She frowned as he took the seat across from her. A prolonged social interaction would jeopardize her afternoon schedule.

"How may I be of assistance, Lieutenant?" Seven asked.

"It's B'Elanna's birthday next week. I was wondering if you have any ideas for a gift for her."

It was not the type of inquiry Seven had been expecting. "I'm sure the computer database has a detailed list of acceptable gifts for a romantic partner from many cultures…"

"That's just it; I don't want to get her a 'girlfriend' gift," Tom said, "I want to get her something she'll really appreciate. Maybe something that could make her life easier down in engineering."

Seven nodded at this. Chakotay had been scheduling her for shifts in engineering with increasing regularity. Just that morning, she had been working side-by-side with Lieutenant Torres tuning the plasma injectors. Seven’s mind raced. What could the chief engineer need when any tool could be replicated? And what gift could she offer when Torres didn’t want her around?

"I’m sorry Lieutenant, but I do not have any suggestions. While I have been working closely with Lieutenant Torres, our collaboration is…”

“Hit or miss?” Tom offered.

“Fraught,” Seven replied firmly.

Tom sighed and started to rise from his seat. Seven was deeply relieved. Their interaction had only set her back from her schedule by five minutes. It would be easy to recover the time elsewhere.

As he pushed in his chair, Tom made one more request. “Well, if you do think of anything, let me know. It might just make things less fraught.”

Seven watched the lieutenant leave, doubting very much what he had said. Still, there was a slim chance he was right. She resolved to allocate some time tomorrow to consider the matter further.


	2. Implementation

Tom was getting ready for his shift when the call came in.

“Seven of Nine to Lieutenant Paris.”

“Paris here,” he replied automatically.

Was this call business or pleasure? He could never tell with Seven. Some people might assume that meant it was always business, but Tom held out hope that the former drone was not as immune to fun as she seemed.

“I wish to discuss the matter you raised with me at lunch two days ago.”

It took a moment for Tom to make the connection.

“She’s not here, Seven,” he said, “Does this mean you thought about B’Elanna’s birthday gift?”

“That is correct,” she replied, “I have a proposal. Can you meet me on Holodeck 2 this evening, 1800 hours?”

Tom was elated. He had made no progress on his own. This could be his chance to not only be the best boyfriend ever, but to help Seven make a friend.

“Sure,” he replied casually, “But I have dinner plans at 1900.”

“It should not take long,” Seven said.

“Great, then I’ll see you there.”

Seven closed the connection without saying goodbye, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad sign. Tom whisted to himself as he straightened his uniform. It was going to be hard to focus on work while he was wondering what Seven had cooked up.

Ten interminable hours later, Tom found himself standing in front of the doors to the holodeck. It had been smooth sailing all shift so he had plenty of time to guess what Seven was up to. She must have thought of a new adventure program B'Elanna would like. Depending on how far she was, he could help with the story, add a couple of creative flourishes, and they could deliver the perfect gift together. Tom rubbed his hands with glee, then entered the holodeck.

And walked into main engineering.

"Uh, Seven?" he asked.

"One moment."

As Tom watched her descend from the upper level, his puzzlement grew. Why would B'Elanna need a replica of the place she spent almost all her waking hours? Had Seven misunderstood him?

"It's… engineering," he said diplomatically.

"It is a bit more complicated than that, but you are correct." Seven replied.

Did he detect a hint of smugness?

"Go check the manifold saturation rate," Seven suggested.

It sounded like an order, but Tom tried to shrug it off. He was no engineer, but this was a basic task even he was familiar with. He walked up to the nearest console and keyed in the commands.

"96.47 percent," he reported.

"Computer, bypass program," Seven ordered, "What is the manifold saturation rate of the warp engines?"

"Manifold saturation is 96.47 percent," the computer replied.

"It's a real time simulation," Tom realized.

"Accurate to three hundred milliseconds," Seven said, standing up a bit straighter, "and there's more."

She led him to the upper level and removed a maintenance hatch. "Due to the high current involved, the plasma manifolds can only be inspected when the warp engines are disabled. On the holodeck, that is not an issue."

Tom nodded, and followed her into the maintenance shaft. He was more impressed by the moment. The specs for main engineering were in the computer, and requesting the holodeck to display them was trivial. But emulating the actual performance of the engines was incredibly complex. If Tom had attempted such a feat, it would have taken months.

When they arrived at the end of the shaft, Seven removed another panel, revealing the green glow of the manifolds.

"So this is what 96 percent efficiency looks like," Tom said.

"We can look closer," Seven replied, "Computer, increase program magnification by one thousand percent."

Suddenly, Tom had the unnerving feeling that he was shrinking. He closed his eyes to fight off the dizziness. When he opened them again, the cramped maintenance shaft had transformed into an enormous cavern, with the manifold glowing high above them. Before he could speak, Seven ordered the computer to elevate them by one meter, so they were eye level with the manifold.

"What do you see?" she asked Tom.

"Well, I'm no engineer," he said, trying not to think too hard about the fact that he was levitating above the floor, "but that dark spot up there seems bad?"

"You are correct," Seven replied, “Grid 035 has become clogged. Computer, return us to the main entrance, normal magnification."

Tom shook his head as the view around him returned to normal. "That's one hell of a way to perform a diagnostic."

"Now that we know grid 035 is malfunctioning, it can be replaced. Normally, the investigation and repair would require the warp core to be disabled for six hours. With the help of the simulation, we only need 45 minutes. And this is not the only process which can be improved in this manner. I have incorporated telemetry from over sixteen hundred sensors into the program."

"That's incredible," Tom said.

"So, do you think Lieutenant Torres will like it?" she asked.

Tom felt his chest tighten. "Seven, I can't give this to B'Elanna. It was your idea, and you did all the work. From what I can tell, it was a lot of work! You should give it to her yourself."

Seven frowned. "But you should give her the program. It will mean more to her coming from you."

"First, I'm not sure that's true," Tom said, "and second, that wouldn't be honest or fair."

"I have failed to collaborate yet again," Seven said.

The frustration in her voice made Tom's heart break. "Don't think of it that way. You created an amazing gift. Now, you just have to deliver it."

"What will you get her as a present?"

At this, Tom smiled. "Oh, I'll replicate a necklace or something. The most important thing is that she has a great birthday. And now I am certain that she will."

"I … thank you," Seven said.

"Now, about getting her to the holodeck…"


	3. Illumination

Seven had almost left the party several times, but her promise to Tom kept her rooted in the mess hall. The party was winding down. They had agreed that Tom would decide when she should approach B'Elanna, as the better judge of both the dynamics of the birthday party and Lieutenant Torres' mood. Exactly 73 seconds later, he gave her the sign.

"Lieutenant, I was wondering if you would care to join me on the holodeck. It concerns...a birthday present," Seven said.

"Go on," Tom encouraged, "I'll clean up here."

Seven watched as Tom gave Lieutenant Torres a significant look. He had assured Seven he would not reveal the nature of her gift, but clearly he had warned B'Elanna in some way. Seven was grateful when she agreed to join her without objections.

When they arrived at the holodeck, Seven performed the same demonstration she had given Lieutenant Paris, with some minor modifications. He had recommended adding transporter-like effects when changing the resolution and location, as well as adding what he called ‘hoverboards’ to make levitation less disconcerting. She agreed they gave the program a more polished feel, even if they weren't strictly necessary.

Lieutenant Torres didn't need the same coaching Lieutenant Paris did to understand the implications of her work. She had already listed a dozen procedures she wanted to perform before they had reached the exit. Suddenly, the chief engineer paused.

"Seven, I appreciate this very much, but why? Why go through all this trouble?" Torres asked.

"You once said, 'I wish I could just crawl inside the damn thing and see what's broken,'" Seven answered, stumbling over the epithet, "I obliged."

Torres chuckled, "I didn't expect you to take that literally, but it's amazing what you did. Thank you, truly. This was a wonderful birthday surprise."

Seven was relieved. She had been so worried about how Torres would react that she hadn't regenerated properly. Giving the gift was harder than making it, but it had also made her feel truly accomplished. She would have to remember to thank Tom for his help in the morning.

"I am glad to hear that Lieutenant," Seven replied.

“You can call me B’Elanna, you know,” Torres said.

“Happy birthday, B’Elanna.”

"Thanks."


End file.
